A Delhi court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of four people accused in a money laundering case against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo till December 7. The accused include the managing director of Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national.
Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala passed the order on an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate.
The four arrested are Lava International Managing Director Hari Om Rai, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik.
Advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for Rai, opposed the ED’s application for extension of their judicial custody, saying it cannot be done “mechanically and automatically”.
“There is no fresh material to extend the judicial custody, application seeking custody is mechanical and there is no allegation of non-cooperation against Hari Om Rai,” Rana told the court.
The agency raided the company and people linked to it in July last year and claimed to have busted “a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies”.
The ED had then alleged a whopping Rs 62,476 crore was “illegally” transferred by Vivo to China in order to avoid paying taxes in India.
